“The SOF guys are less risk averse than conventional ground forces, so they’re more apt to push the limit,” said Bob Work, father of the AI-driven Third Offset Strategy. “Their commanders also have embraced AI and autonomous ops…. so I think all the conditions are set for SOF to lead the way in the more direct combat applications of AI and autonomy.”

“You’re not looking at my mission needs,” Brig. Gen. Crall told an audience of contractors. “If ‘there’s an app for that,’ does the app work when you’re disconnected?” Crall asked. “Does the app work when you haven’t had food for three days and you’ve been cut off?”

This year promises to be a year of big changes in how the Defense Department does Cyber — and leaders are warning staffers that it’s not going to be business as usual.

CAPITOL HILL: The military’s new cyberspace force is working to overcome recruiting and retention shortfalls, training bottlenecks, and its dependence on the National Security Agency, officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. These devils in the details are an inevitable part of standing up a new kind of force for a new kind of… Keep reading →

UPDATED with Adm. Richardson & Branch comments ARLINGTON: The Navy and Marines have agreed to follow the Army and Air Force into the Joint Information Environment — but the sea services have security and other concerns. Will networks connected to JIE really be more secure? Can JIE really serve frontline warfighters as well as rear-area administrators? The… Keep reading →

SILICON VALLEY: Defense Secretary Ash Carter changed the leadership today of his flagship office trying to improve relations with entrepreneurs and major companies here. At the same time, Carter reorganized the Defense Innovation Unit (Experimental) — DIU(X) — to link it directly to his office, largely bypassing the traditional Pentagon acquisition system. In a prepared statement… Keep reading →